How to Be a Health Insurance Lawyer

People can get health insurance from work as part of salary benefits, or they can purchase private health insurance.

A health insurance attorney helps clients understand health insurance documents and make clear and informed decisions. A health insurance attorney also represents individuals in health insurance cases when conflicts arise between the client and a health insurance provider. Health insurance lawyers specialize in insurance law and know the legal ins and outs of the health insurance system.

1. Get your BA degree. During your four years at college or university, focus on getting good grades and developing your writing and verbal skills. Take public speaking classes, enroll in a theater course and join a debate team. These will help you to get through law school and excel in your future career as a health insurance attorney.

2. Register for the Law School Admissions Test. Your LSAT score will prove of utmost importance in your admission file, so do your best to prepare as much as possible for the test itself. It will evaluate your potential of following a career in law.

3. Prepare your admission file, making sure you meet all the necessary requirements. Most top law schools will require more than a BA degree and the LSAT test for admission. You’ll have to get recommendations from teachers, list extracurricular activities and prove you have ambition and determination. Check the website of the law school or law schools to which you plan to apply and start preparing everything several months prior to the application deadline.

4. Complete all three years of law school. Focus on studying and customizing your curriculum so it meets your interests. Study insurance law and analyze cases that deal with health insurance issues.

5. Use your time in law school to get some work experience. An internship with a health insurance attorney would be ideal for your future career. Contribute to your school’s journal with articles on health insurance related issues. Keep all your contributions in a file to attach to your resume later.

6. Graduate from law school and take the bar examination. Each state has its own bar exam, so make sure to focus both on federal law and the specific state’s law. The questions will prove difficult and will put to the test all the knowledge you accumulated over the years.

7. Get your license and start looking for a job. Competition is fierce in the job market for new lawyers, but don’t give up. Accept any job you can get in the beginning just to build some experience. In time, gear more toward specializing as a health insurance attorney.